The Hits Keep Coming For Dick’s Sporting Goods Following Intra-Store Gun Ban

Executives from Dick’s were forced to confront angry shareholders late last week after the company’s shares fell more than 4.5 percent and J.P. Morgan Chase downgraded Dick’s shares, saying the company was overweight.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods is warning investors that its decision to remove certain ‘assault-style’ weapons from its Field & Stream stores cost it dearly and may limit its future gains,” said The Daily Wire.

An analyst for J.P. Morgan said that same-store sales for Dick’s outlets are expected to grow less than 1 percent even as the company’s inventory rises. He noted that, while the company’s 25 percent Black Friday store discount will help boost sales, it will not boost margins.

Lee Bolitsky, Dick's chief financial officer, didn't come out and say it directly, but it seems that Dick's' decision to cut down on its gun sales had an impact in other areas of its business. Gun owners and pro-gun consumers may not be able to buy their guns from Dick's any longer, but they also seem to have made the conscious decision not to trust Dick's as an outfitter for any of their other needs — particularly their hunting needs, according to The Daily Wire article.

SCI President Paul Babaz expressed exactly that sentiment last week upon learning of Dick’s plan to remove hunting gear from some of the stores.

“Dick’s Sporting Goods has made it clear that it doesn’t want hunters’ business by removing hunting merchandise.  So, I will accommodate them and take my business – ALL of my business elsewhere,” Babaz released in a prepared statement.

The word is, Dick’s will be replacing the hunting gear with more “traditional sporting goods, like baseball, licensed products, and outerwear.”